Will Tom's media circus sink 'Worlds'?

Tuesday

Jun 28, 2005 at 12:01 AM

By Bob Strauss Los Angeles Daily News

Is this any way to destroy the world? Or, at least, to do it profitably?

Starting in Tokyo nearly two weeks ago, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg have been premiering their big, sci-fi blockbuster "War of the Worlds" across the globe ... while Cruise's Eiffel Tower proposal to new girlfriend Katie Holmes, assault from squirt gun-wielding pranksters in London and televised/spronouncements about Scientology everywhere have kept the tabloids and entertainment news shows buzzing. On Friday morning, he took on Matt Lauer on "Today."

American reporters are among the last to see and hear about the end-of-the-world epic, and L.A. will be the last major city in the world to host a red carpet event Monday for the film, a mere two days before it opens worldwide.

It's an unusual way to promote a major motion picture. But probably not a bad one, according to industry observers (Paramount Pictures, which is releasing "War of the Worlds" in North America, declined to comment for this article).

"Cruise and Spielberg are two of the planet's biggest stars," notes Gitesh Pandya, editor of Boxofficeguru.com. "And they're doing a film that has the potential to be one of the year's top grossers worldwide. So it makes sense for them to support the film in Japan and Europe."

Even more so when you consider the fact that Cruise is a bigger star overseas than he is here. His last sci-fi collaboration with Spielberg, "Minority Report," grossed $197 million internationally and $132 million domestically.

"This creates an event for something that, in a very busy marketplace, needs to pop," adds David Poland, who runs the Hot Button and Movie City News Web sites for cinema obsessives. "Nobody else is doing the world tour, and this is raising the stakes in terms of media. We're covering the international tour while it gets the international markets even more excited than it gets us because they're not as jaded. So it probably is a very, very effective strategy. But not everybody can do it. You have to have a Tom Cruise."

And, apparently, you have to have his love life and spiritual beliefs as a big part of the package, which some pundits think could provoke an audience backlash. Some are even calling the engagement a publicity stunt as Cruise began proclaiming his love for Holmes and asked her to marry him during his publicity tour. She, too, is promoting her new movie, "Batman Begins."

"I get excited about living," Cruise says by way of explaining his exuberant and confrontational public outbursts of late, jumping on couches on both the "Oprah" and "Tonight" shows. "And people. And there are things in my life, Scientology and tools that I've spoken of before, that I apply to my life and have helped me."

"I think that there are some fans who are being turned off by his antics," Pandya reckons. "Especially sci-fi and male fans who are going to show up for this movie anyway because they love the premise. But even all of this overexposure of the relationship probably won't be enough to keep them from buying tickets. I think the point is to try get in some of the female filmgoers who are not natural sci-fi action fans by using the gossip and tabloid press. That typically attracts a more female audience."

It certainly worked for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

"The Katie thing is not an issue," Poland states flatly. "I think all it's done is kept awareness that the movie's coming up for a long time. If the movie's not good, if the movie is marginal, then you're looking at a damage problem. But I don't think it's the kind of thing where you go, 'You know, I was gonna go see "War of the Worlds," I wanted to see all of that stuff blow up. But I don't want to see a Scientologist having sex with a 26-year-old getting squirted in the face. That's real upsetting to me.' I just don't think that people make those kinds of decisions."

Just how much will "War of the Worlds" have to gross domestically to be considered a success?

"If it can do $150 million or more over those six days (Wednesday through the following Monday's July 4 holiday), I think the studio will be ecstatic," Pandya estimates. "If it can't do $100 million, then it's certainly in trouble."